CHARLOTTE – You hear Charlotte never led in their 105-92 home loss to the defending NBA champion Miami Heat Wednesday night and you figure the Bobcats didn’t put up much of a fight.

And you would be wrong.

While the Bobcats lost their 16th straight game, they gave Miami (20-6) all it wanted and then some in front of a sellout crowd of 19,602 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“It’s a long season still,” said Bobcats guard Kemba Walker, who had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists. “We’re still getting better. We’re a young team that’s learning. I know we’re in a losing streak, but at the same time we’re trying to stay positive. And I think good things will happen for us in the future.”

Charlotte (7-21) – and Walker in particular – drew high praise from Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team was coming off a 103-97 Christmas Day victory over Oklahoma City in a rematch of last summer’s NBA finals.

“You have to give them credit,” Spoelstra said of the Bobcats. “They compete and keep coming at you. They’re coached well with a young team and a future. When Walker’s hitting 3s like that, he’s a tough cover. He’s an interesting player. He really is. He’s built with such a low center of gravity and a great handle and great change of direction and deceptiveness. He’s got a great future ahead of him. He plays 40-plus minutes and he never seems tired.”

Charlotte trailed by 19 points at 52-33 and 54-35 late in the first half before getting as close at two at 84-82 with 7:16 to play.

The Bobcats even had a possession with the chance to tie or take the lead seconds later, but Gerald Henderson’s 18-footer from right baseline was short with 6:46 to play – and the Heat tore off on a back-breaking 11-3 surge that pushed the lead back to 10.

“We played them tough,” said Henderson, who had 14 points and seven rebounds. “(Dwyane) Wade and LeBron (James) played like how they play. But we were right there. It was a one possession game with 6-7 minutes to go. We just couldn’t come up with the plays. It’s tough because you fight so hard and then at the end of the game, that’s when they’re at their best.”

Wade finished with a game-high 29 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. And James added 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

For Charlotte, Hakim Warrick made his first start an impressive one with 18 points and nine rebounds. Ramon Sessions added 19 points off the bench.

Notes: Replays clearly showed Wade kneeing Sessions in the groin area with 8:17 left in the game when Sessions was defending Wade near midcourt. Sessions said afterward he was surprised no foul was whistled on Wade and felt the Miami All-Star guard did so purposely….

Page 2 of 2 - No word on the severity of Byron Mullens’ sprained left ankle. Mullens, injured in last Saturday’s finale of the four-game West Coast road trip in Denver, was wearing a boot on his ankle and needed crutches to leave TWC Arena….

Also out for the Bobcats was Ben Gordon (right knee soreness) for the third straight game and Tyrus Thomas (left calf strain) for the 20th straight game….

For Miami, Ray Allen was inactive due to a sore shoulder he suffered in a collision with Oklahoma City’s Kendrick Perkins in Wednesday’s 103-97 Heat victory….

Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said Miami Heat All-Star LeBron James’ biggest talents were his basketball IQ, his humility and his physical power. But Dunlap said he was happy that the basketball IQ is what appears to be on most people’s minds these days: “People knew it but now it’s the first thing people talk about.”…

Charlotte visits Brooklyn on Friday before returning home for their lone meeting with the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday at 7. With New Orleans owner Tom Benson proposed a team name change to the Pelicans, could it be the final time a team in Charlotte is named the Hornets?